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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29909952">That's Life</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phantom_Lover/pseuds/Phantom_Lover'>Phantom_Lover</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - High School, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, F/M, Romance, Secret Crush</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 19:41:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>17,401</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29909952</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phantom_Lover/pseuds/Phantom_Lover</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Julie Molina feels invisible most of the time. So what happens when she finds herself unexpectedly "married" to her handsome, popular, longtime-crush, Luke Patterson? She is about to find out. When she and Luke are randomly paired up to work on a project together for their Reproductive Health class, they have to learn to navigate the world of adulthood side-by-side for better or worse. All while dealing with the reality and drama of high school. Julie quickly discovers she's not as invisible as she once thought she was, especially to Luke. Does extra time spent together mean sparks will finally fly between them, or will it all go up in flames?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Julie Molina/Luke Patterson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>75</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>174</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I have to do what now?" Julie asked, not sure she understood correctly. </p>
<p>She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, crossing one leg over the other. The tiny office she was seated in was hot and overcrowded with file folder boxes stacked floor to ceiling. Julie's eyes kept finding their way to the inspirational poster tacked to the wall behind the guidance counselor's desk. </p>
<p>"You have to take Human Growth and Development in order to graduate." Mrs. Kipler, her counselor, repeated slowly. She gave Julie a look like she was a complete idiot as she handed over a slip of paper.</p>
<p>"What exactly does sex ed have to do with me going to college?" Julie said glancing down at the course schedule she'd been handed.</p>
<p>Mrs. Kipler pinned her with a knowing look, "You're joking, right?"</p>
<p>"I just think I have more important classes to take this year that'll help me be better prepared for college next fall." She argued.</p>
<p>"I hear you, Miss Molina. The fact remains that I don't make the rules, the state board of education does. And they require all high school seniors to successfully pass this course in order to graduate."</p>
<p>Julie sat back in her chair with a sigh.</p>
<p>"Besides, it's an easy A. A smart girl like you will have no problem breezing through it." Mrs. Kipler said plastering a reassuring smile on her face.</p>
<p>Just then the counselor's cell phone buzzed and Julie could tell she wanted to respond to whoever was on the other end more than she wanted to be talking with her. Getting up from the seat, Julie offered her a halfhearted wave before leaving the office.</p>
<p>Xxx</p>
<p>"Miss Molina, care to share with the class what you're working on there?"</p>
<p>Julie looked up from the doodle she was drawing in her notebook to find her teacher giving her a hard look.</p>
<p>"Sorry, Mrs. Cortez." Julie offered sheepishly as she sank down in her seat feeling her cheeks burn.</p>
<p>She could hear a few snickers from her classmates as the teacher went back to the front of the class to continue her lesson. Julie's eyes scanned the room to find her former best friend and sworn enemy, Carrie Wilson, looking at her. Carrie mouthed the word 'loser,' rolling her eyes dramatically at Julie, before turning her attention to the teacher.</p>
<p>Julie sighed bringing her focus around to the task at hand. She looked to see the notes that were written on the board and quickly jotted them down, admonishing herself to be better. It was three weeks into the school year and Julie was quickly discovering that this Human Growth and Development class was no joke. She had no idea the human body was so...complicated.</p>
<p>While she much preferred her world of art and music, the one saving grace for being in this particular class was sauntering through the door at that very moment.</p>
<p>"Luke, how nice of you to join us today." The teacher remarked dryly as she watched him casually walk by headed for a seat.</p>
<p>"Doctors appointment." He offered in explanation taking the spot at the desk next to Julie's.</p>
<p>"Yes, I need to schedule my visit with Dr. Starbucks pretty soon too." Mrs. Cortez remarked nodding at Luke's oversized cup from the coffee company before going back to her lecture.</p>
<p>Luke shrugged as he pulled his notebook from his backpack, "Do you have a pencil I can borrow?" He turned to whisper to Julie giving her a pleading look.</p>
<p>She did her best to ignore her hammering heart at his puppy-dog eyes and leaned over to fish a pencil for him out of her backpack. He gave her a grateful nod as she handed it over.</p>
<p>"Nice drawing." He said glancing at the doodle on her page before turning his attention back to the front.</p>
<p>"Thanks." She said simply, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. She felt heat rise to her cheeks again, this time for an entirely different reason.</p>
<p>Luke Patterson had been the object of her affection from day one. They had gone to school together since sixth grade, and shared the occasional class over the last four years. While the two had spoken every so often, Julie was fairly certain she was completely invisible to a guy like Luke, only visible when he needed a writing utensil. </p>
<p>Not only was he the hottest guy in school with his steel blue eyes, brown shaggy hair and well-toned muscles (if you go for that sort of thing). He was, by default, the most popular person too. His good looks and outgoing personality made him a favorite among their peers (especially the girls), leaving him with no shortage of friends. To top it all off, Luke was the lead singer and guitarist in the band Sunset Curve with his buddies Alex, Reggie and Bobby.</p>
<p>And then there was Julie. With her eclectic taste in fashion, dark curly hair (that was unruly at the best of times), and one best friend to speak of. Not to mention, she was a member of the National Honor Society, choir, and marching band. Impressive resume builders? Yes. Helpful with scoring boyfriends and dates? Not exactly.</p>
<p>"Ok, people," Mrs. Cortez said pulling Julie from her daydream. "It's project time!" She announced.</p>
<p>The students shifted restlessly in their seats wondering what their teacher had in store for them. Mrs. Cortez began to pass back thick packets with details of the assignment. Julie's eyes raked the page quickly for information.</p>
<p>A partner project? She hated partner projects. Historically, she was always the unfortunate half of the team that felt a need to step up and work diligently, while the other half usually didn't share her enthusiasm to get good grades or put in any effort. The room started buzzing with quiet murmurs of students trying to pair up from their seats before the teacher had even explained the assignment.</p>
<p>"This project," The teacher went on quieting everyone, "is worth 80 percent of your grade, so I want you to take this seriously. Fail this assignment and I'll see you again next quarter." She said scanning the room with a pointed look. "And before you get all excited about who you're working with, I'm picking your partners."</p>
<p>Half the class groaned, much to the amusement of their teacher. She seemed to be enjoying the small amount of power she had over them. Julie scanned the room again mentally sizing up her classmates in preparation for whatever the fates decided.</p>
<p>She felt like she was in The Hunger Games watching Mrs. Cortez pull tiny slips of white paper from two separate bowls on her desk. One held the names of all the guys in the class, and one with the girls.</p>
<p>Daniel Jacobs and Riley Austin were the first to be called. Carrie Wilson and Nick Thorton were next. Justin Randall and Kailey Mills after that. And on and on it went.</p>
<p>Julie's stomach knotted as classmate after classmate was paired off, leaving fewer and fewer partners she was willing to work with for her.</p>
<p>That was until Mrs. Cortez announced, "Julie Molina and..." She trailed off taking what felt like forever to pull a slip of paper out and open it, "Luke Patterson."</p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Julie was pretty sure her heart stopped beating for a millisecond while her mind was spinning into overdrive. She could hear the hissing whispers of her classmates float around the room at the social injustice that had occurred while Mrs. Cortez paired the remaining students.</p>
<p>Julie pushed her glasses up her nose, chancing a look in Luke's direction. She was relieved to see he didn't look completely miserable at the thought of working with her like she thought he might. In fact, she found him so deeply engrossed in whatever was on his phone screen, she wasn't sure he'd heard the announcement at all.</p>
<p>"Alright, now that you have your partners, let's discuss what you'll be doing." Mrs. Cortez smiled and began flipping through her copy of the assignment while the class did the same. "For the next four weeks you and your partner will be working together to navigate through the challenges of adulting." She said.</p>
<p>Julie was going to be Mrs. Luke Patterson for the next four weeks? A smirk crept up her lips at the thought.</p>
<p>"Think of this project like that board game, Life." The teacher went on. "Today you'll find out what your career path is, along with its annual salary. From there, you and your partner will have to figure out housing and transportation needs. There are a lot of elements to this project, which is why it's such a big part of your grade. As you can see from the calendar on page four, you'll be asked to work through a different aspect of adulthood each week."</p>
<p>"What does this have to do with human growth and development?" One of the boys raised his hand to ask.</p>
<p>Mrs. Cortez sighed, "There's more to being an adult than having sex and babies." She replied, eliciting a few chuckles from the students. "You need to learn how to take care of yourselves financially as well as physically and mentally. And don't be surprised if I throw a few curve balls at you throughout this assignment." She added cryptically.</p>
<p>While the teacher began circulating the room, she continued explaining the parameters of the project, snatching Luke's phone from his hands when she passed by. "At the end of the four weeks, you're responsible for putting all your work together in an oral presentation. I'll post a sign up next week."</p>
<p>Luke leaned over to whisper confidently, "Don't worry about any of it. This is my second time having to take this class. I already know what to do."</p>
<p>Julie felt her face blanche in horror as she turned to consider him. She'd only had a handful of classes with Luke over the years, so she didn't really know what type of student he was. He never spoke up much during discussion, and she'd never worked with him on any projects, but she couldn't risk failing this one. She didn't want to blemish her GPA. Especially since she was currently working on a handful of college applications.</p>
<p>"Relax, Julie. I'm kidding." He chuckled. "Give me your phone so I can text myself with your number. I'm not going to let you off easy having me do all the work." He said with a wink.</p>
<p>So maybe he was going to take this seriously after all. Relieved, Julie passed him her phone trying to be sly and look nonchalant so she didn't lose hers to the teacher too.</p>
<p>"Cool case." He remarked slipping it back over to her after he'd put his number in.</p>
<p>Julie shot him a curious look out of the corner of her eye, "You like Kakegurui?"</p>
<p>Could it be this hot, popular guy 1) knew about anime and 2) liked it?</p>
<p>Luke shrugged, "I caught a few episodes on Netflix."</p>
<p>"Cool." Julie said as casually as she could.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, she was working hard to reign in her inner nerd so she didn't embarrass herself by gushing over it. Thankfully, the teacher stopped by their desks so they could choose their careers. Luke plucked a slip of paper from the bowl Mrs. Cortez was carrying around. Julie followed suit, eager to know what path she'd been given.</p>
<p>"Pediatrician." Luke remarked looking at his own piece of paper.</p>
<p>"I got photographer." Julie said feeling slightly giddy at the prospect of being given a career path similar to what she'd actually wanted to pursue. "I think you'd make a great pediatrician, Doctor Patterson." She said to Luke as he filled out the first page of their packet.</p>
<p>He gave her a wry smile, "That does have a nice ring to it, doesn't it? I make good money too!" He added excitedly. "We can get a sweet house on this salary. Oh, let's get one with a pool."</p>
<p>Julie laughed, "Settle down, boy. Let's figure out how we're going to get to work first, and then we'll look at houses."</p>
<p>Luke gave her a playful pouty look just as the bell rang, signaling the end of class.</p>
<p>"Are you free after school today?" Luke asked as they gathered their things.</p>
<p>"I'm supposed to help out at my Aunt's shop. She sent me a 911 text earlier." Julie explained feeling disappointed she would be missing out on time with Luke.</p>
<p>"Ok, no big deal." Luke said "Maybe tomorrow?"</p>
<p>Just then one of the girls from class made her way to Luke's side. She shot Julie with a piercing look before linking her arm with his and quickly leading him away without a word.</p>
<p>Julie's phone buzzed with a text shortly after she'd arrived at her next class. Luke had sent her a picture of a very sleek, very expensive looking sports car.</p>
<p><b>The only acceptable way for a doctor to get to work</b> 😏 He added.</p>
<p><b>Sorry to burst your bubble, but we may have to live in that car at the rate you're spending money</b> 😂 Julie replied.</p>
<p><b>I'll get you to cave on something... You'll turn to the dark side eventually, Molina</b> 😈 😈 😈</p>
<p>Julie wondered for a split second if Luke was flirting with her, but she quickly pushed the thought from her mind. He was probably like that with every girl, but that didn't stop Julie from wishing she was special.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Julie stood at the front counter of her aunt's bakery later that day passing the time on her phone.</p><p>"Looking at your instant gram again?" Julie's aunt Victoria asked pressing close to peer over her shoulder.</p><p>Julie rolled her eyes, "It's Instagram, tía." She said continuing to mindlessly scroll through her feed.</p><p>"Oh, he's cute. Who's that?" Victoria remarked still watching Julie's screen.</p><p>"Luke Patterson." Julie said shutting off her phone and setting it down hoping this would put an end to her aunt's questioning.</p><p>"Are you friends with this Luke?"</p><p>Julie laughed humorlessly, "Not exactly, but we're working together on a project for class."</p><p>"Do you like him?" Her aunt asked getting straight to the point. She gave Julie an appraising look.</p><p>"What's not to like?" Julie replied grabbing a spray bottle and rag to clean off the few tables at the front of the shop.</p><p>"You take him some of my quesitos, mija." Victoria said decidedly. She opened one of the cases and gingerly placed two of the treats in a small paper bag.</p><p>"No way, that's weird!" Julie exclaimed imagining the look on Luke's face if she randomly handed him a bag of pastries.</p><p>"You want him to like you? Take the quesitos. Your mother, God rest her soul," Victoria made the sign of the cross on herself, "gave your father some quesitos and we see how well that turned out in the long run."</p><p>"Yes, but mom was a rockstar. She was beautiful and popular. Lots of guys liked her. I'm sure dad would've taken crumbs from the ground if she offered. I don't exactly have that problem." Julie said.</p><p>"Don't give me that! You look exactly like your mother did when she was your age." Her aunt replied. "You know what it is? You intimidate the boys with your beauty and your intelligence. But if they can't appreciate that about you, then they don't deserve you."</p><p>"I guess." Julie said with a shrug. "Aren't you going to be late for Pilates?" She asked hoping this would get her aunt out the door and momentarily out of her personal life.</p><p>"Oh, Dios mío!" Her aunt exclaimed glancing at her watch. She grabbed her purse from under the counter. "Don't forget to lock up." She reminded, giving Julie a quick kiss on the head before she scurried out the door.</p><p>Julie sat down at the counter and sighed waiting for the time when she could officially close up shop. With her aunt gone and no customers in sight, she turned back to her phone to check on her other Instagram account.</p><p>Julie was better known as J_Mo_Art to the public, and felt borderline famous with the 1,500 followers she had slowly gained over the last couple of years. She'd found popularity from her anime-style drawings based on her favorite fandoms and ships.</p><p>People also seemed to really like some of her original anime characters too. One in particular she referred to as Beanie Boy. At first glance, no one except Julie would guess the cute rocker boy drawings were loosely inspired by Luke who often wore different colored beanies like her character. Well ok, Luke would probably recognize himself if he looked close enough. Which was exactly why no one else in her life, except for Flynn, had any idea about the account. And that was exactly the way she intended to keep it. </p><p>Xxx</p><p>"Ok, ladies and gentleman, today is a work day. We're going to head to the library so you all can use the computers to get started on your projects." Julie faintly heard Mrs. Cortez announce the following day in class.</p><p>She was lost in thought working on another drawing. This time she found herself sketching an acoustic guitar from the memories in her mind.</p><p>When her mom was alive she had been the lead singer in a band, which meant Julie grew up around music. She'd spent her childhood being taught how to play the piano and hone her voice. Julie truly loved music, but nowadays she participated in choir and marching band mostly out of duty. Once her mom died, she felt the bright burning flame of her passion extinguished.</p><p>Julie had turned to drawing then. It was something else she had always enjoyed doing and it kept her safely away from any feelings or painful memories associated with her mom.</p><p>"Earth to Julie."</p><p>Julie blinked finding Luke standing in front of her desk. He smirked at her as she came out of her daydream.</p><p>"Sorry, what?" She asked feeling befuddled.</p><p>"I asked if you were ready to go." Luke repeated slinging his backpack over one shoulder.</p><p>Julie nodded and pushed her glasses up her nose. She grabbed her things, following him from the classroom.</p><p>"What were you thinking about back there? You looked pretty lost in thought." Luke remarked.</p><p>"Nothing really. Just thinking about my mom."</p><p>Luke glanced at her from the corner of his eye, giving her a nod. Julie was used to people shutting down when she mentioned her mom. No one really knew what to say, and Julie wasn't exactly sure what she expected.</p><p>"So my aunt gave me some quesitos as payment for covering at her bakery yesterday. Did you want one?" Julie asked hoping to break the silence that had fallen between them as they continued down the hall.</p><p>"Heck yeah!" Luke exclaimed lighting up.</p><p>Julie pulled the paper bag from her backpack and handed it over, wondering if she was crazy for taking her aunt's advice. She was pleasantly surprised when Luke wasted no time in grabbing out one of the treats and eagerly stuffed half of it in his mouth.</p><p>"Dis is weally good!" He proclaimed around the mouthful of food.</p><p>"I'll be sure to let her know." Julie said watching him pop the other half in his mouth.</p><p>"Did you want the other one?" He asked reluctantly.</p><p>"It's all yours." She replied as they entered the library, finding an empty table to work. "Should we make a plan first before we get started?" Julie suggested, opening her notebook. Luke sat down beside her.</p><p>"Hold up." He said, stopping her while she flipped through the pages looking for one that wasn't covered in her sketches.</p><p>Julie panicked for a moment thinking he'd spotted one of her Beanie Boy doodles. She was relieved when she noticed it was the drawing of an electric guitar she'd done awhile back that caught his eye.</p><p>"You drew that?" He asked leaning in for a closer look.</p><p>"Yeah, my mom was in a rock band when I was a kid. It might sound weird, but drawing this kind of stuff makes me feel closer to her." Julie explained.</p><p>"That's not weird. You're really talented, Julie." He said fiddling with his pen. "Um, would you mind...can I have it?"</p><p>"You want my drawing?" She asked skeptically.</p><p>"Yeah, I mean...if that's ok." Luke sat back pulling the stocking cap from his head to run a hand through his hair, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink. "I really like it. Plus I play the electric guitar in my band." He said slipping his hat back on.</p><p>"Sure." Julie said brightly before she ripped the drawing from her notebook and handed it over.</p><p>Her heart hammered excitedly.</p><p>"What's J_Mo_Art?" Luke asked squinting at her writing at the corner of the page.</p><p>Julie leaned over to see what he was looking at, "That's just how I sign my work." She said pulling their assignment out of her folder.</p><p>She knew he'd never make the connection between her signature and her Instagram account, but that didn't stop the hiccup of panic she felt at him seeing it.</p><p>"We'll probably want a couple computers after I go find the books we need." Julie said once they'd made a plan for their project.</p><p>"I'll help you." Luke offered. "I don't want to be accused of not pulling my weight."</p><p>Julie gave him a smirk as they headed for a computer to search up what they'd need for books. She tried her best to focus on the task even though Luke was pressed so close to her side that she could feel the heat of his body radiating off of him. She also caught the subtle woodsy smell of his cologne.</p><p>"Ok!" Julie announced a little too loudly as she turned and headed toward the row of bookshelves she needed. She began to grab at books, clutching them in her arms.</p><p>"Let me help." Luke said as he held his hands out to her.</p><p>Julie's skin tingled as her fingers brushed against his, handing off the small pile she'd built. Once her arms were free, she stood on tiptoe in an attempt to grab the last book they needed from the very top shelf. She growled in frustration realizing her petite stature made this nearly impossible.</p><p>Luke chuckled, "I got you, shorty." He said as he effortlessly stretched his arm over her head for the book she was after.</p><p>Julie shot him a look, "I'm not short." She protested. "I'm fun-sized."</p><p>Luke bust out laughing at this, the sound of which made Julie's heart soar. She couldn't help but give a little laugh too.</p><p>"Let's go Fun-Sized." Luke teased as they made their way to the table.</p><p>When they arrived back, they discovered their spot had been overtaken by Carrie, her friend Aubrey, and their partners. Julie thought she saw Luke's smile falter just before he sat down with the group. She hesitated taking her seat, feeling self-conscious among them.</p><p>Julie set to work pouring over the pages of the books and taking notes, although the words looked like nothing more than a jumble of letters. She couldn't help being distracted by Aubrey's shameless attempts to flirt with Luke. She also couldn't ignore Carrie's smug looks, seeming to enjoy how uncomfortable Julie was with all of it.</p><p>Relief washed over her when the bell rang awhile later, dismissing them from class. Julie packed her things as quickly as possible, ignoring Luke's calls as she made a swift exit from the library.</p><p>She got ready for gym class in record time, hoping a little exercise would help clear her mind. Flynn joined her in the locker room shortly after looking like the cat that caught the canary.</p><p>"What do you know that I don't?" Julie asked.</p><p>"They couldn't find a sub for Mr. Curtis, so team sports is joining our class today." Flynn squealed excitedly.</p><p>"And?"</p><p>"And team sports is full of super cute guys including, but not limited to: Nick, Luke, Sebastian, Justin..." Flynn ticked off on her fingers as she named the boys.</p><p>Julie rolled her eyes pulling her hair into a ponytail, "Ok, take it easy. Let's get out there before we're marked tardy."</p><p>As expected, there was a large gathering of students in the gym. Many of them stood in tightly packed groups talking and laughing. Some of the guys had started dribbling and shooting basketballs, while most of the girls just sat on the bleachers and ogled them.</p><p>"Alright everyone, listen up!" Julie's teacher, Mrs. Spencer, called out. "Mr. Curtis is out today. And since I don't know the first thing about team sports, we're just going to head outside to the track for a mile run to start our class session together."</p><p>A few of the students groaned as everyone began to file outside.</p><p>"Hey Julie, what gives?" Luke asked as he caught up with her and Flynn on their way out. "You totally ditched me at the end of class."</p><p>Flynn shot Julie a look and scurried off in the direction of the track leaving the two alone.</p><p>"You seemed a little distracted. I didn't think you'd notice." Julie said stopping to tie her shoe, hoping to ditch Luke in the process.</p><p>"Well, before you ran out," He said stopping along with her. "I wanted to ask you if we could meet after school to talk more about the project since we didn't really get a chance to today."</p><p>"I didn't run out!" Julie defended as she stood up.</p><p>"Oh, you ran. There was smoke coming off your feet." Luke teased. "What gives, am I really that bad of a partner?" He asked giving her a pouty look that made her smile.</p><p>"No," She said rolling her eyes as they continued on their way. "It's just that Carrie and I have had bad blood ever since she decided freshman year that being popular was more important than being nice. I didn't want to hang around her, or watch you and Aubrey make heart eyes at each other the entire time."</p><p>Julie stiffened when she realized that perhaps she'd said a little too much. Luke glanced at her from the corner of his eye as he gathered his wavy brown hair into a low ponytail. As they neared the track they stopped to consider one another. Julie watched as Luke tucked a few loose strands of hair behind his ears.</p><p>"Let me make it up to you." He offered. "You'll have my complete attention after school. No distractions, and I won't make heart eyes with you. Promise." He added holding up his hand like he was taking an oath.</p><p>Julie's heart sank, but she forced a smile. "Well, I guess since you promised not to crush on me." She teased.</p><p>"Cool. I'll See you later then, Jules." Luke replied jogging out onto the track to catch up with his friends.</p><p>Xxx</p><p>"Oh, what about this one?" Julie asked excitedly.</p><p>She and Luke had been sitting together on his couch for a better part of the afternoon scouring every real estate website on the internet as they worked on their project. She shifted her tablet screen for him to see the house she'd found.</p><p>"Nah." He said wrinkling his nose and shaking his head before turning back to his laptop.</p><p>"I love it! It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, walk-in closets, newly renovated kitchen..." She trailed off turning the screen in his direction again, a pleading smile on her face.</p><p>"Too...bricky." Luke said offhandedly barely giving it a second glance.</p><p>"Too bricky?" Julie repeated giving him an incredulous look. "It's in a great school district and the property taxes aren't terrible. You know, sometimes the least perfect things end up being quite perfect if you just give them a chance. Even if they are too bricky." She argued.</p><p>"There's no pool." Luke replied with a shrug.</p><p>"I give up." Julie huffed flopping back on the couch.</p><p>Luke had managed to find something wrong with every house she'd found, and the ones he wanted were too far out of their price range.</p><p>"It's getting late, I should probably get going anyway." Julie said glancing at the time on her tablet.</p><p>"Are you hungry? I can get us something to eat." Luke suggested quickly as Julie began to pack her things.</p><p>"I'm good. I'm sure my dad microwaved something for dinner by now." She said.</p><p>"Ok. Well, did you want a ride home?" He asked walking with her to the door.</p><p>"No, thanks. I like walking." Julie replied. "Lucky you don't live too far." She said with a smile.</p><p>"Right." Luke said returning her smile as he opened the door and they said their goodbyes.</p><p>Julie spent her walk home thinking about everything that had happened during the day. The rational side of her brain knew she shouldn't read into anything between her and Luke, but the hopeful side couldn't help but get excited about how closely he'd sat to her on the couch (even though there was plenty of room elsewhere). Plus, if Julie didn't know better, she'd have thought Luke was trying to think of reasons to keep her around just then.</p><p><b>I guess that house is kinda perfect. </b>Luke's text buzzed into Julie's phone just as she reached home.</p><p>She smiled and texted back, <b>Not too bricky after all?</b></p><p><b>I guess not... </b><b>But I still want my sports car since it doesn't have a pool!</b> Luke replied.</p><p><b>Sure</b>. Julie conceded feeling like maybe now they were getting somewhere.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Alright people, this week you and your partner will be doing some meal planning." Mrs. Cortez announced Monday during class.</p><p>Julie cringed at the thought of having to make a meal. She was pretty sure she could burn water if given the chance. Dinner was always an important time of day for her family to gather around the table and talk, but neither of her parents were particularly good cooks. They usually depended on frozen dinners that could be heated easily in the microwave or oven. Thankfully, her aunt Victoria spared them from having to eat Stouffer's lasagna the entire week by bringing the family home cooked meals.</p><p>"You're responsible for budgeting and planning seven nutritious dinners. Extra credit for actually making one of them." Mrs. Cortez said before telling the class to get to work.</p><p>"So I guess frozen pizzas are out of the question." Luke said turning to Julie.</p><p>"Yeah, we're in trouble if I'm in charge of cooking. I can whip up a really good peanut butter and jelly sandwich though."</p><p>"How hard can it be?" Luke said with a shrug.</p><p>They were about to find out.</p><p>"Any idea what a shallot is?" Luke asked reading from the recipe page on his phone.</p><p>Julie grabbed a shopping cart as they walked into the grocery store later that day after school.</p><p>"No clue. What does google say it is?" She suggested as they walked into the produce section.</p><p>"Says it's some kind of onion." Luke said looking around scratching his head. "I don't know, Jules. Maybe we were too ambitious with this recipe. Let's just get a frozen lasagna and make it look like we did it."</p><p>"That would be cheating, sir." Julie turned to give him a half-lidded look. "Come on, we can do this!" She enthused, plastering a big cheesy smile on her face. Julie held up her hand for a high five.</p><p>Luke chuckled, half heartedly slapping her hand back, "If you say so." He said skeptically.</p><p>They coursed through the aisles getting what they needed for their recipe, pouring over nutrition labels and price tags, trying to find the best deal.</p><p>"Listen, if we burn my parent's house down, I'm coming to stay with you." Luke said as he and Julie set out their ingredients on the kitchen counter after their shopping trip.</p><p>Julie eyed him curiously, then was suddenly entranced at the sight of his bulging biceps as he pulled his hair back in a ponytail. Julie couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to snuggle up with those arms around her.</p><p>Quickly brushing the thought aside, she went to wash her hands at the sink while Luke stepped around the corner.</p><p>"What is that?" Julie exclaimed with a laugh watching Luke come back pulling a frilly, flowered apron over his head and tying it around his waist.</p><p>"It's my apron." Luke replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "And this is yours." He said holding up a black one with pink lettering on it that read 'Kiss the Cook'.</p><p>Luke gave her a wry smile as he drew near and gently placed the strap of the apron over her head. Julie's pulse drummed as he motioned for her to turn around so he could tie the back for her. His fingers brushed her skin as he carefully pulled her hair free from under the neck strap when he was done.</p><p>"Thanks." She said clearing her throat.</p><p>When she turned around she looked up to meet Luke's eyes. A sudden tension coursed between them as they stood unspeaking. Julie felt her chest tighten watching as Luke bit his lip.</p><p>"Ready?" He asked, his voice low.</p><p>"Yes," Julie said breathlessly.</p><p>She didn't care what it was he was asking if she was ready for. The answer was yes.</p><p>"Ok, let's get started." Luke said taking his phone from his back pocket to pull up the recipe.</p><p>Julie mentally shook herself. She needed to get her head in the game and get real. Luke was not about to kiss her.</p><p>The two stood side-by-side at the counter pouring over the directions in the recipe. They had to google what the difference was between chopping, dicing and mincing. And neither was quite clear on how exactly to blanche their green beans.</p><p>It was during her mincing that Julie felt the sharp blade of her knife slice through her fingertip instead of the onion. She hissed in pain dropping the knife to the counter with a clank.</p><p>"You ok?" Luke stopped what we was doing and turned to Julie, a concerned look on his face.</p><p>"I cut myself." She cringed holding her finger that quickly began to bleed.</p><p>"I'll be right back." Luke said darting from the room. He came back a moment later with a small plastic box. "Sit down." He instructed pulling out a nearby stool for her.</p><p>Julie felt her stomach roll at the sight of her own blood. She swallowed hard feeling a cold sweat forming at her hairline.</p><p>"Sorry, I can't stand the sight of blood." Julie admitted teetering slightly in her seat feeling dizzy.</p><p>"Hey, look at me." Luke said. "I got this. I'm a doctor, remember?" Luke said with a wink.</p><p>Julie smirked, trying to keep her eyes on him, which wasn't hard to do.</p><p>"You got yourself pretty good there." Luke admitted looking at her cut. "I'm going to put pressure on this for a minute." He said taking her hand in his, holding a piece of gauze to her finger.</p><p>She took a deep breath, "Do you think we'll get <em>extra</em> extra credit for practicing first aid?" Julie joked feeling her stomach settle down.</p><p>Luke chuckled opening a bandage and gently wrapping it around her wound, "Probably not. You're just in luck that your husband is an award winning pediatrician."</p><p>"Award winning, huh? Julie played along.</p><p>"Yeah, you remember I saved that bus load of orphaned children that crashed on my way to volunteer at the animal shelter the other day." Luke supplied.</p><p>"Oh, how could I forget?" Julie said rolling her eyes playfully. "I've just been so busy traveling the country doing photo shoots for Rolling Stone, it must've slipped my mind."</p><p>Luke took the knife from her hand when she went back to her spot at the counter. He gave her a pointed look and shook his head motioning for her to tend to the sauce and noodles that were boiling on the stove.</p><p>"I understand. It can't be easy being as talented and in-demand as you are." Luke said going back to cutting where Julie left off. "But we can both relax on our trip to Hawaii next month. We deserve it." He went on, glancing at her from over his shoulder.</p><p>Julie laughed, trying not to get too excited thinking about Luke giving some thought to their made up life together.</p><p>"Speaking of pictures, we should probably take some as proof of our hard work." She suggested pulling out her phone.</p><p>They laughed and joked staging photos for their project. Luke also had Julie pout for the camera showing off her injured finger.</p><p>"If that doesn't get us extra credit, I don't know what will." He said smiling at her picture on the screen.</p><p>"I'm going to wash up before we eat." Julie said taking off her apron and heading for the bathroom.</p><p>When Julie returned, she found Luke deeply engrossed in artfully plating their meals.</p><p>"Your phone was kinda blowing up." He remarked nodding to her cellphone that was laying some distance away from him on the kitchen counter.</p><p>She picked it up seeing several notifications for J_Mo_Art on her screen. Julie froze wondering if Luke had been curious enough to look. She quickly tucked her device in her back pocket coming alongside him.</p><p>"Everything ok?" Luke asked taking several photos of their food from different angles.</p><p>"Yeah." Julie replied grabbing her plate from the counter and following him to the dining room.</p><p>The two sat down at the table looking tentatively at one another. Julie picked up her fork, Luke followed suit. They sat in a quiet stand-off for a moment until before long, she and Luke were both laughing.</p><p>"Is it bad I'm scared to try this?" Julie said trying to catch her breath.</p><p>"Let's do it on the count of three." Luke suggested gaining his composure.</p><p>They eyed each other, both getting a small amount of food on their forks.</p><p>"One...two..." Luke counted.</p><p>"Three." Julie said closing her eyes and bringing the fork to her mouth. </p><p>Taking a bite, she was instantly surprised by the pleasant flavor. She peaked her eye open finding Luke looking mischievous.</p><p>"You cheated!" She gaped at him realizing he hadn't take a bite at all. "Take a bite!" She demanded trying to fight her smile.</p><p>"Is it good?" He asked speculatively.</p><p>"Actually, yeah." Julie said taking another mouthful.</p><p>She watched as Luke finally gave in and ate, a pleasantly surprised look crossing his face.</p><p>"Too bad we don't have any of those quesitos." He said giving Julie a meaningful look after the two finished their dinner.</p><p>"You'll have to take that up with my tía. I'm sure she'd love to keep you in steady supply." Julie said standing from her seat and heading for the kitchen sink to rinse her dish. Luke followed close behind.</p><p>"I'm glad we didn't burn the house down." He said taking the dish from Julie's hand and stacking it in the dishwasher.</p><p>"Yeah, cooking isn't so bad after all." Julie replied rinsing another dish and passing it over to Luke.</p><p>"As long as you're cooking with the right person." He said.</p><p>Julie smiled, unsure of what to make of Luke's comment. She continued rinsing and passing the dishes without a word.</p><p>"Did you want a ride home?" Luke asked once they'd cleaned the last of the kitchen.</p><p>"No, thanks. I like to-"</p><p>"Walk. Right, I forgot." Luke interjected. "It's getting dark, did you want some company?" He offered.</p><p>"You don't have to do that." She said waving him off dismissively.</p><p>"No, I want to." He said rubbing the back of his neck, suddenly unable to meet her eyes.</p><p>"Oh. Ok then." Was all Julie could think to say before she gathered her things to leave.</p><p>"Do you remember sixth grade camp?" Luke asked after he and Julie had walked in silence for a bit.</p><p>She turned her head finding him staring up at the darkening sky. She definitely remembered sixth grade camp. It was on that trip that her crush on Luke began.</p><p>"Yeah, that was fun." She said wondering what was on his mind, or if he was just making conversation.</p><p>"We played a pretty epic game of flashlight tag on that trip. Remember how mad the chaperones got at all of us for being out of bed?" Luke asked with a chuckle.</p><p>Julie giggled thinking about the lecture her and the other players had gotten about it, but that wasn't the first thing she remembered from that night. It was on that trip, during that game of flashlight tag, that she and Luke shared their first kiss.</p><p>He had stumbled onto her hiding just behind a tree. Instead of scoring a point for the boys' team and tagging her out right then, he took refuge beside her. The two crouched near the ground listening for the other players nearby, talking in excited whispers. It was only after Luke dramatically announced to Julie (like a soldier going off to war) he had a game to win, that she felt his soft lips quickly press against hers. Her brain barely had time to register the moment before he was gone, but it left her head spinning.</p><p>The two never once spoke about the kiss, but the memory still lingered happily in Julie's mind. She guessed Luke had probably forgotten about it after all this time.</p><p>"I think one of them made Reggie cry." Julie said trying to stifle a laugh.</p><p>"Probably." Luke said rolling his eyes. "How's your finger?" He asked pulling her hand to his face to investigate as they reached her front door.</p><p>"I think we got to it just in time, doc. It'll be ok." She teased gently pulling her hand from his grasp.</p><p>Luke rocked back on his heels while Julie dug in her bag for her house keys. They stood quietly, unable to meet one another's eyes.</p><p>"Thanks for walking me home." Julie offered fiddling with her key ring.</p><p>"Of course. I had fun today." He said stuffing his hands in his back pockets.</p><p>"Me too." She replied pushing her glasses up her nose.</p><p>"Well, goodnight." Luke said making his way from the porch to the sidewalk.</p><p>"Good night!" Julie called before heading inside.</p><p>Sitting on her bed, scrolling through her Instagram notifications later that evening, Julie was reading and responding to some of the comments on her latest post when she received a DM.</p><p><b>musicXman:</b> Just found ur page today. Ur an amazing artist!</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art:</b> Thanks! I appreciate the support.</p><p>Curious, Julie clicked on musicXman's profile and scrolled through his posts finding no clues about who he was or where he was from. His photos were mostly of guitars and other musical instruments taken from artistic angles with various filters on them. There were also a couple obligatory sunset photos sprinkled in.</p><p><b>musicXman:</b> The Beanie Boy drawings are legit 👌🏻!</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art:</b> Those are my favorite too 😉</p><p><b>musicXman:</b> Oh yeah? Why's that?</p><p>Julie thought for a moment before she replied. There really was no harm in admitting it to a complete stranger, right? </p><p><b>J_Mo_Art: </b>They remind me of someone special 😍</p><p><b>musicXman:</b> Lucky guy.</p><p>Was the last reply before their conversation went quiet.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Hey, Julie." A voice greeted over the commotion of the crowded hallway.  </p><p>Julie looked up from her phone with a smile. She had just received a message from musicXman while she was in between classes later that week. Her smile fell the instant she saw Carrie was the one talking to her.</p><p>"Hey, Carrie." Julie said slamming her locker shut. She gave her a courtesy nod before continuing on her way.</p><p>"Wait up, I wanted to talk to you." Carrie said coming alongside Julie.</p><p>Julie instantly went on guard wondering what business Carrie could possibly have with her.</p><p>"About what?" She asked trying not to sound too annoyed.</p><p>"Looks like you and Luke are having a lot of fun working on your project together." Carrie remarked.</p><p>"Mmhmm." Julie replied wondering why Carrie had noticed or cared.</p><p>She and Luke had been having a lot of fun working together over the last couple of weeks. They got along surprisingly well and usually ended up spending their class time talking about everything other than the project itself. Luke had a way of making her feel seen in a place where she felt invisible.</p><p>"Just a little heads up, you might want to be careful there." Carrie warned.</p><p>Julie glanced at her from the corner of her eye.</p><p>"Don't get me wrong, Luke is a nice guy and all," Carrie defended seeing Julie's questioning look. "It's just...I don't want you to get hurt."</p><p>"What are you talking about?" Julie asked feeling more annoyed than ever. Since when did Carrie care about her getting hurt?</p><p>"I mean, I don't want you getting the wrong idea. Because, like let's face it, you're not exactly his type." Carrie said gently. "Plus my friend Aubrey and Luke kinda have a thing going on. So, just don't think he's got a thing for you or whatever."</p><p>"Ok, Carrie." Julie said rolling her eyes. Though she felt like she'd been punched in the gut.</p><p>"Imagine a guy like Luke with a girl like you? It'd be social suicide." Carrie barked a fake haughty laugh.</p><p>Julie clenched her fists, "And you'd know because you and Luke are such good friends? I'm pretty sure he can't stand you." She snapped back.</p><p>Carrie wheeled around pointing a finger in Julie's face, "Watch it, Molina. You don't want to mess with me. And you definitely don't want to mess with my friends." Was her final warning before she stomped off in the opposite direction leaving Julie feeling stung.</p><p>As much as she hated to admit it, Carrie was right. There was no way Luke was interested in her. It wasn't like Julie didn't know how the social hierarchy of high school worked. She wasn't exactly living in some syrupy sweet rom-com movie here. Cute popular guy falls for sweet nerdy girl? Nope. Not a chance. </p><p><b>musicXman:</b> Everything ok?</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art:</b> Yeah. Y?</p><p><b>musicXman</b>: Ur post seemed kinda...angsty?</p><p>It was true. After her run in with Carrie earlier that afternoon, Julie rage posted a pretty intense drawing on her Instagram account without much explanation.</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art</b>: Just stupid high school girl drama 🙄</p><p><b>musicXman</b>: high school is overrated.</p><p><b>musicXman: </b>Besides, ur 10 times better than all of them!</p><p>His sentiment made her smile, but Julie had come to terms with the fact that this was just a class project. She wasn't about to poke a hornet's nest over a guy. She would just get her A on the assignment, coast through the rest of the marking period, and be on her merry way. No more Luke. No more steel blue eyes. No more pencil sharing. No more joking and laughing. No more worries about what the rest of her classmates thought of them. Just back to the way things were before. Back to their own separate worlds.</p><p>Xxx</p><p>Julie loved football games. Actually, scratch that. She didn't love the actual football game, but she had always loved playing for the crowd and feeling their energy. The Homecoming game that Friday was no exception. Something about it being her senior year really made the night feel extra special. It was a bittersweet moment when she and the rest of the marching band took their places on the field moving in perfect formation one last time during halftime. After, Julie stood on the sidelines watching as principal Lessa took her place out on the field to announce the homecoming court. </p><p>Scanning the crowd, she noticed Luke standing nearby talking and laughing with his friends and the other nominees. Julie did a double-take seeing him dressed in a suit and tie for the event. This was a big departure from the faded band t-shirts and jeans he normally wore. It was hard for her not to stare. She gave him a little wave when she noticed him looking in her direction. Luke waved back just before his name was announced for Homecoming King. Julie tried not to groan too loudly when the announcement that Carrie's minion, Aubrey, was named Homecoming Queen and she pranced her way to Luke's side. </p><p>Julie looked everywhere but the center of the field while the band played the school's fight song. Chancing a glance only as Luke and the rest of the homecoming court made their way back toward the sidelines. Julie watched as he politely pried himself from Aubrey's grasp and jogged in her direction.</p><p>"Hey, Jules." Luke greeted, his eyes sweeping over her from head to toe. </p><p>"Pray tell, to what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from the king?" Julie teased in her best British accent.</p><p>Luke gave her a condescending smile as he quickly took the crown from his head. "You're the one with the cool headgear. I like this." He said touching the feather on her Shako hat.</p><p>"Oh yeah, everyone wants one of these." Julie rolled her eyes. "It comes standard with every nerd girl starter kit."</p><p>Luke smiled, "You guys were really good out there. I don't usually come to games, but I liked watching you play. You were so...coordinated." He said looking for the right word. </p><p>Julie smirked, "Thanks. That's kinda the point."</p><p>Just then one of Luke's friends called to him urging him to hurry up so they could leave. </p><p>"Just a minute!" Luke yelled waving him off before turning back to Julie once again. "Right. So you're going to the dance tomorrow?" He asked. </p><p>"Yeah, Flynn's making me go." She said fiddling absentmindedly with the valves on her trumpet. </p><p>She glanced over Luke's shoulder at his group of friends that were eyeing them curiously.</p><p>"Oh, because I heard Ben Lineager asked you." He said. </p><p>Julie quirked her brow, "You keeping tabs on me, Patterson?"</p><p>Luke's friend called to him again sounding more impatient this time. He glanced over his shoulder, then back. </p><p>"So I'll see you tomorrow?" He asked, avoiding her question, his eyes bright.</p><p>"I guess so." She said giving him a curious look.</p><p>He nodded and smiled as he turned to walk away, leaving Julie to wonder what that was all about. </p><p>Xxx</p><p>"Would you stop fidgeting? You look so good. Own it!" Flynn admonished, shooting Julie a look.</p><p>The beat of the music rattled her chest as she and Flynn stood at the perimeter of the school gymnasium. Julie had been trying to slowly work her way toward the exit all night without Flynn catching on. </p><p>Julie tugged nervously at the sides of her dress, "I can't believe I let you talk me into this!"</p><p>"Yellow is your color, Jules. It works well with your skin tone."</p><p>Julie shot her friend a half-lidded look, "I wasn't talking about my dress, Flynn. I'm going to get a water. You want one?" She said looking for a way to pass the time. </p><p>"I'm good. I want to go dance some more! Don't take too long." Flynn called as she headed into the mass of students at the center of the room. </p><p>Julie slowly made her way to the other side of the gym, narrowly escaping a group of freshman boys that were flailing around like they were in a mosh pit at a heavy metal concert. She breathed a sigh of relief finally making it safely to the refreshment table. Feeling a gentle tap on her shoulder, Julie turned around to find Luke flanked by his friends Alex and Reggie, both wearing mischievous grins.</p><p>"Hey guys." She greeted, wondering why Luke looked so chagrined and his friends looked so devious. </p><p>"Hey, Julie." Alex replied, his smile growing wider.</p><p>"So listen, Julie," Reggie said, throwing his arm around her shoulder. "What are you doing after the dance?" He asked as if he were conducting a business transaction.</p><p>She shrugged, "Going home. Why?" </p><p>"Oh no, you can't do that!" Alex said feigning disappointment. He threw his arm around Luke's shoulder, pulling him close. "She can't do that, can she Luke?" </p><p>Reggie and Alex traded a look while Luke looked everywhere but Julie. </p><p>"What's up?" Julie asked, her eyes volleying suspiciously between the three. </p><p>"We," Reggie said nodding at Luke, "were wondering-"</p><p>"You guys, I got this." Luke interrupted, shoving Alex from his side. He pulled Reggie away from Julie and ushered both of his friends on their way. </p><p>"What was that all about?" Julie chuckled. </p><p>Luke shook his head glancing at his friends who had both stopped to give him a thumbs up. Julie felt her heart melt when he looked back to her with a shy smile on his face.</p><p>"So a bunch of us were going to get together at Reggie's house after the dance. His parents are never home." Luke offered, stuffing his hands in his pockets.</p><p>Julie hesitated, she had never been invited to a party before (but even if she had been, she was pretty sure she wouldn't really like them anyway). </p><p>"You should come." Luke said moving closer to her.</p><p>Her stomach did a little flip-flop. Julie nodded trying to play it cool, "Sure. I'll see what Flynn wants to do." She said. </p><p>Luke nodded seeming satisfied by her answer. "I'll text you the address." He offered trying to bite back a smile as he turned and disappeared back into the crowd. </p><p>"Luke Patterson told you you should go? We're going." Flynn said without hesitation after Julie had recounted the story for her.</p><p>"Yeah, but it's just going to be a bunch of popular people." Julie argued. "They don't want us there."</p><p>"Ok, so?" Flynn replied indignantly. "I repeat: Luke. Patterson."  </p><p>Julie rolled her eyes. Her boy-crazy friend had always refused to be bound by what others thought. She wished she could borrow some of her confidence occasionally. Like right now.</p><p>"We're going." Flynn said. "And that's final." </p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Julie sighed heavily as Flynn parked her car among the dozens of other vehicles that lined the street. She watched miserably as a few of their classmates headed past them on the sidewalk toward Reggie's house later that night. Her stomach knotted when Flynn unbuckled and reached for her door handle.</p><p>"Oh, I just remembered I told my dad I'd be home by 11." Julie said trying to act disappointed.</p><p>"No you didn't." Flynn replied.</p><p>"I'm kinda getting a little bit of a headache." Julie tried again.</p><p>"No you're not."</p><p>"It's sort of early in the night, the party probably hasn't even really started." She reasoned.</p><p>"Yes, it has!" Flynn said motioning to another couple of kids that passed by.</p><p>"Let's not go, this is stupid. Look at all these people. There's no way Luke will even know I'm here." Julie pleaded one last time.</p><p>Flynn let out a huff and turned in her seat to face Julie, "Listen Jules, you belong here just as much as anyone else. You're a really awesome person, and I'm not just saying that because I'm your best friend. If these people don't see that, that's their problem. Now I'm tired of you sulking in the shadows like you're not worthy. Because guess what? Luke-freaking-Patterson himself personally invited you here. And that doesn't happen every day. So deal with it!"</p><p>Julie sat speechless. Flynn took this as acceptance of her pep talk.</p><p>"Good. Now let's go, I told Devon Keller I'd be here and momma needs her eye candy." Flynn said with a grin.</p><p>Julie and Flynn made their way to Reggie's house, loud music greeted them at the door. They squeezed their way in pushing past groups of people standing around talking, laughing and drinking. The two girls stayed by each other's side looking for a familiar face. They hung around chatting with a group of people they sort of knew from class for awhile. That was until Flynn was pulled away by her infatuation-of-the-moment, Devon, leaving Julie alone.</p><p>She scanned the room looking for Luke again. He was nowhere in sight. He had probably lied to trick her and wasn't really even coming, Julie thought bitterly. Or he was tucked away in some dark corner with his queen, Aubrey.</p><p>She made her way into the kitchen feeling like she could go unnoticed among the people that were gathered there. She stood staring out the window that sat over the sink until she heard a familiar voice.</p><p>"Julie, what a great dress."</p><p>She turned to find Carrie and one of her minions standing nearby giving her an appraising look.</p><p>"Thanks." Julie replied, moving to make an exit.</p><p>"We thought you looked kinda lonely over here by yourself." Carrie went on stepping in Julie's path with a pitying look. "What are you drinking?" She asked eyeing the cup in Julie's hand.</p><p>"Just water," Julie shrugged trying to dodge Carrie again.</p><p>"Just water? Aren't you sweet." Carrie cooed stepping in front of her another time.</p><p>Julie rolled her eyes, "What do you want, Carrie?"</p><p>"I just want to make sure you're having a good time. Try this instead." She said offering her a cup.</p><p>Julie eyed her speculatively, "No, thanks." She said.</p><p>"Come on, you don't want Luke to think you're no fun. I heard he personally invited you here. Can't go looking like a stick in the mud, now can you?" Carrie said with a playful pout.</p><p>"Why would I care what Luke thinks?" Julie asked shifting on her feet and crossing her arms. She hoped she looked unaffected.</p><p>"Oh, come on, Julie. Everyone knows you have a thing for him." Carrie smirked. "Since what, like sixth grade?"</p><p>"How pathetic." Carrie's friend chimed in with a scoff.</p><p>"Do you think Luke knows?" Julie asked feeling a streak of panic course through her.</p><p>"Duh." Carrie replied rolling her eyes.</p><p>Julie's stomach knotted, her cheeks growing warm. She had never once thought for a second that Luke had paid enough attention to her to notice her admiration.</p><p>"Why don't you take this drink, loosen up a little, and see where it takes you?" Carrie suggested wiggling the cup in front of Julie's face.</p><p>"What's in this?" She asked, tentatively taking the drink against her better judgment.</p><p>"It's just some fruit juice and a little vodka." Carrie said with a shrug.</p><p>Julie brought the cup to her lips and took a sip, finding the cocktail surprisingly sweet. She tipped it back taking a little more.</p><p>"Look at that. You're more fun already!" Carrie said.</p><p>Julie shot her a look and took a hearty swig of the drink. She wasn't sure why she felt a need to prove herself to Carrie, but she suddenly wanted to show her she wasn't the innocent nerd girl her former best friend thought her to be.</p><p>"Let's dance!" Carrie's minion whooped, pulling both girls with her to the other room where the music was thumping loudly.</p><p>Julie quickly began to feel her cares melt away as she moved freely to the music. She felt a strange tingling sensation working its way through her shoulders and up the back of her neck. Carrie brought her another drink as they continued to dance. Julie felt a little giggly and lot less inhibited while more people joined them.</p><p>"I should find Flynn. She loves this song!" Julie proclaimed, suddenly realizing she hadn't seen her friend in awhile.</p><p>Julie stumbled from the room and away from the crowd when she felt the floor pitching beneath her. She braced herself on a wall for a moment wondering if this was what being drunk felt like. She had no idea, since she didn't have anything else to compare it to. But whatever this was, it felt weird and it made her want to go home.</p><p>She fumbled her way to the next room flopping down on the loveseat. She closed her eyes for a moment hoping to stop the room from spinning, when she felt someone sit down beside her. She peaked one eye open finding a good looking, linebacker-sized guy sitting next to her. She thought she recognized him from English class.</p><p>"Hey, you're Julie, right?" He asked giving her a mega watt smile when he noticed her looking at him.</p><p>She sat up, turning in her seat to face him. "Hey, I'm Julie." She said smiling, holding out her hand to shake his.</p><p>He tentatively took her hand giving her a strange look, "I know. I'm Mike. I think we have English together." He said introducing himself.</p><p>"Mike Morrison!" She exclaimed, slowly remembering who he was. "We have English together."</p><p>He chuckled at her outburst, "You having a good time?" He asked throwing his arm behind her onto the seat back.</p><p>"I guess." Julie shrugged.</p><p>"You come here alone?" Mike said pressing closer to her.</p><p>Julie tried to put some space between them feeling nauseous from the smell of beer on his breath.</p><p>"No, I came with my friend, Flynn."Julie said scooting to the edge of her seat. "Which reminds me, I haven't seen her in awhile. I better go find her." She went on, trying to make a hasty retreat.</p><p>"What's the rush? I'm sure she's fine." Mike said catching her arm, bringing her back to the couch.</p><p>Warning bells were going off in the back of Julie's mind, but her thoughts felt sluggish about what to do. "No, I really should go look for her." Julie said pulling her arm free.</p><p>"Come on, Julie. Stay here with me. Let's hang out. I've been wanting to get to know you." He purred, sneakily caging her in with his massive arms.</p><p>Julie struggled in vain to push him away from herself, much to Mike's amusement. That was until she found herself suddenly freed, seeing Mike now on the floor looking stunned with Luke seething over him.</p><p>"Don't mess with her again, Morrison!" Luke roared before he turned to Julie. "Hey, you ok?" He asked kneeling down in front her.</p><p>"Luke, hi." She said dreamily, her mind grappling with everything that had just happened.</p><p>"He didn't hurt you, did he?" Luke asked looking her up and down.</p><p>"You saved me." She whispered, leaning toward him, eyes wide.</p><p>Luke gave her a funny look, "Jules, are you drunk?" He asked.</p><p>Julie giggled, "Maybe? You have really pretty eyes." She said staring intently at him.</p><p>"Thanks." Luke said clearing his throat. He stood to his feet after a moment.</p><p>"I should go find Flynn." Julie announced standing up with a wobble.</p><p>Luke grabbed her by the shoulders to steady her, "Let me see your phone, I'm going to text her."</p><p>"Good idea. You're so smart." Julie praised him handing over her phone.</p><p>Luke quirked his brow looking up at her from his text before handing it back.</p><p>"Let's get you some fresh air." He suggested, lacing their fingers together and leading her to the patio.</p><p>Julie liked the feel of her hand in his. It felt comfortable and safe. His fingertips were just a little calloused and rough on her skin from his years of playing guitar. </p><p>Finding a bench, they sat down together. Julie heaved a sigh and picked at her chipping nail polish. It was a beautiful night and she was grateful for the quiet outside and the cool, fresh air. Although she wasn't sure what to say now that she had Luke alone.</p><p>"I didn't take you for much of a drinker." Luke remarked after awhile. Julie thought he sounded a little disappointed.</p><p>"Yeah, I'm definitely not." She said feeling disappointed in herself. "But Carrie and her friend made me think I might have more fun if I did."</p><p>"Carrie and her friend, huh?" Luke scoffed. "What do they know?"</p><p>Julie shrugged.</p><p>"You're ten times better than all of them." He said looking at her from the corner of his eye.</p><p>Luke's words triggered something in Julie's befuddled mind. She'd heard them before somewhere, but for the life of her she couldn't remember where.</p><p>"You smell really good." Julie suddenly announced for no particular reason other than it seemed like the right thing to say in that moment sitting so close to him.</p><p>"Thanks, that's good to know." Luke chuckled, patting Julie on the knee.</p><p>"I'm really glad you got here when you did." Julie said turning serious.</p><p>"I am too." Luke said twisting to look at her.</p><p>"I was beginning to think you weren't going to show."</p><p>"Why would I invite you here if I wasn't going to show?" He asked.</p><p>"I don't know, maybe you were playing some kind of trick? Like, you'd make me think you like me and invite me to spend time with you at this party, and then just totally ditch me. That would be so mean. But there's no way you like me as much as I like you, Luke Patterson. I've had the biggest crush on you since sixth grade. You're so nice." Julie rambled on letting her mouth spew the long-kept secrets of her mind.</p><p>"I do like you, Julie." Luke admitted giving her an earnest look.</p><p>"Yeah, just because we're partners." She replied rolling her eyes. "You don't like-like me. Because if you did, you'd totally kiss me right now because it's perfect." Julie challenged leaning in. She parted her lips and closed her eyes, waiting.</p><p>Her eyes fluttered back open when she felt Luke's fingertips gently brush her cheek, "Not now. Not like this." He whispered looking sorry.</p><p>Julie pulled back feeling stung, "Right." She said sobering, unable to meet his eyes. </p><p>Just then her phoned buzzed with a text from Flynn. Relieved for the distraction, she got to her feet and began texting back feeling very ready to go.  </p><p>"Jules, can we talk for a second?" Luke asked standing to meet her. </p><p>"Um, Flynn is waiting out front for me. She's my ride home. Maybe later?" Julie said quickly as she made a swift exit back inside, ignoring Luke calling after her. </p><p>Xxx</p><p><b>musicXman</b>: How was your weekend? I really like ur post today. </p><p>Julie had spent most of her Sunday in bed, but managed to post a sketch to her account in between nursing a headache and her wounded pride.<b><br/></b></p><p><b>J_Mo_Art: </b>Thanks! My weekend was...interesting.</p><p><b>musicXman: </b>y?</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art: </b>I went to my first party, got drunk and completely embarrassed myself in front of Beanie Boy.</p><p>Julie felt her face redden at the memory.</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art:</b> How was your weekend?</p><p><b>musicXman</b>: Not as exciting as urs apparently. What happened with BB?</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art</b>: From what I remember, he basically rescued me from this dude putting the moves on me. Then he took me outside for fresh air where I proceeded to tell him  </p><p><b>J_Mo_Art</b>: 1. He smelled good</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art</b>: 2. I've had a crush on him for forever and then...</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art</b>: 3. Attempted to KISS him! 😳😳😳😳🙈🙈🙈🙈</p><p><b>musicXman:</b> Whoa...smooth</p><p><b>musicXman: </b>And? What did he do?</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art:</b> He declined to be drunk kissed by me. </p><p><b>J_Mo_Art: </b>In the nicest way possible.<b><br/></b></p><p><b>musicXman</b>: Respectable </p><p><b>J_Mo_Art</b>: Ok, but like...I have to FACE him at school tomorrow.</p><p><b>musicXman</b>: If he's a good guy he won't make a big deal out of it. </p><p><b>J_Mo_Art</b>: Right...</p><p><b>musicXman</b>: Seriously tho</p><p><b>musicXman: </b>Just talk to him about it. He might surprise you.</p><p><b>musicXman: </b>Plus I'm sure it's not as bad as you think.</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art</b>: Yeah ur right...it's probably worse 😬</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Do you all hear that?" Mrs. Cortez asked the class on Monday.</p>
<p>She cupped her hand to her ear dramatically, pretending to listen to something far off in the distance. "It's the sound of storks! You all are about to become parents!" She exclaimed with a clap of her hands.</p>
<p>She was met with blank stares.</p>
<p>Undeterred Mrs. Cortez carried on, "For this week's portion of the project, you and your partner will be calculating the cost of having a baby, or babies. I'll be coming around with a slip of paper for you. There's a number written on it that represents how many bundles of joy the stork brought. From that, you'll have to figure out what it will take to care for your new family. You may be surprised to find out just how expensive it is to have children."</p>
<p>Julie rested her chin in her hand turning to her notebook to doodle as Mrs. Cortez walked around passing out the slips of paper. Her heart just wasn't in it today and she found it difficult to concentrate. It felt like there was an elephant in the room and it was sitting between her and Luke. She knew she had to face him sooner or later, but she found it difficult to meet his eyes let alone talk to him.</p>
<p>"Now for that curve ball I promised early on in the assignment," Mrs. Cortez said with a smirk. "Not only are you going to find out about the financial responsibility of having children, but you and your partner will be in charge of a RealCare Infant Simulator. It's a baby doll that will give you a true sense of parenthood."</p>
<p>This got everyone's attention.</p>
<p>"Your baby will cry, sleep, need to be changed and fed just like a real child. You two will be looking after the baby for the next 48 hours. It will be going everywhere with you, including classes and after school activities. Ideally, you'll take turns caring for it, especially overnight so that you both get a sense of the responsibility."</p>
<p>A murmur began to travel around the room as the reality of the situation started sinking in to everyone.</p>
<p>"I'm passing out more information about the dolls. You'll pick them up at the end of the day today," Mrs. Cortez said releasing the class to begin their work.</p>
<p>"Can I borrow a pencil, Jules?" Luke asked.</p>
<p>Julie sat pretending to be deeply engrossed in the packet she'd just received from the teacher. With her eyes glued to the the page, she leaned down to get one of the pencils she started keeping just for him from her backpack and handed it over. She turned to face him when she felt his hand holding hers.</p>
<p>"Thanks," he said taking the pencil from her grip, but not letting go of her hand.</p>
<p>Julie pressed her lips into a thin line feeling heat rise to her cheeks.</p>
<p>"Julie, can we talk about-" Luke began.</p>
<p>She closed her eyes and pulled her hand back, holding it up to stop him, "Can we please just agree that whatever happened on Saturday was a giant mistake and pretend it never happened? Please?" Julie said in a rush wanting nothing more than for the conversation to end at that.</p>
<p>"Hey, look at me," he said gently. "We can pretend like nothing happened this weekend, but it did," he whispered leaning in so close she could count the freckles on his nose.</p>
<p>"Are we really doing this right now?" She rasped trying to put him off the subject.</p>
<p>Luke furrowed his brow, his eyes darted to the floor. "Fine, it's forgotten," he said reluctantly. He took a deep breath and leaned back to grab for the slip of paper Mrs. Cortez had left on his desk, "We've got double the trouble," he said recovering quickly with a change of subject. Luke held up the paper revealing the number two written on it for Julie to see.</p>
<p>"Well, there goes your sports car." She teased trying to lighten the mood.</p>
<p>Luke gave her a pout.</p>
<p>"Hey Julie," Carrie said approaching them looking concerned. "How are you feeling?" she asked, a smirk playing on her lips.</p>
<p>"Go away, Carrie. We're trying to get our work done," Luke said giving her an irritated look.</p>
<p>Carrie had the nerve to seem offended, "What's wrong with checking in on an old friend?"</p>
<p>"She's not your friend," Luke snapped.</p>
<p>"Whoa, take it easy, Luke. I don't need you unleashing on me like you did to poor Mike Morrison," Carrie said holding a hand to her chest. She played innocent a little too well.</p>
<p>Luke's knuckles turned white as he clenched the pencil in his hand. He looked like he was going to say something else when he was interrupted.</p>
<p>"Miss Wilson, where are you supposed to be right now?" Mrs. Cortez called from her desk, giving Carrie a pointed look.</p>
<p>Julie had never appreciated her teacher more as Carrie slinked back towards her own desk without another word.</p>
<p>"So what are we going with? A boy and a girl? Two boys? Two girls?" She asked trying to get back to business.</p>
<p>"I vote for one of each. We'll call them Luke Junior and Julie Junior. Done," Luke said sitting back and folding his arms over his chest.</p>
<p>Julie tried not to laugh, "Those are terrible names!"</p>
<p>"You got something better?" He challenged.</p>
<p>"It's sort of cliche, but I've always liked music-type names like Melody and Reed."</p>
<p>Luke seemed to turn the thought over in his head and begrudgingly admitted after a moment, "Yeah, I guess those are better. So how much are these little monsters going to cost us?" He asked bringing his chair and desk closer to Julie's.</p>
<p>By the time they reached the end of the period, Julie felt like maybe things had returned to normal between her and Luke. Although she couldn't shake the feeling that there was still something weighing heavily on his mind as they said their goodbyes when he dropped her off at her next class.</p>
<p>Xxx</p>
<p>"Are you sure you're up for this?" Julie asked giving Luke a skeptical look.</p>
<p>They stood together just outside Mrs. Cortez's classroom after school with baby in hand. Much to Julie's surprise, Luke had eagerly agreed to take on the first shift of parenthood.</p>
<p>"Of course! How hard can it be? It's just a doll," Luke said with a shrug.</p>
<p>"If you're sure," Julie said handing the baby over to Luke. "Watch the head!" She warned, moving to help him cradle it properly in his arms.</p>
<p>"Do you have the bottle?" She asked.</p>
<p>"Yes." He said beginning to gently bounce the baby up and down.</p>
<p>"And the car seat?"</p>
<p>"Yes."</p>
<p>"Ok, because you know you can't just toss it in the backseat of your car, right? What about clothes and diapers?"</p>
<p>Luke rolled his eyes, "Jules, chill. I got this. It's all right here," he said nudging the pack Mrs. Cortez had issued them with his foot. "You just wait, I'll be getting the Father of the Year award. Trust me."</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>Getting out of her car at the address Luke had texted her, Julie heard the muffled sounds of rock music coming from the nearby garage. She tried to restrain the excitement and nerves she felt at being invited to spend time with Luke and his friends, reminding herself she was there purely out of necessity. </p>
<p>Loading her arms with the bags from the bakery off the passenger seat, Julie took a deep breath quickly rehearsing in her head how she was going to make her entrance. She could hear her aunt's reassuring voice in her mind as she bumped her car door closed with her hip. Aunt Victoria told Julie she had nothing to worry about. Luke's friends would accept her, no questions asked, the minute they knew she came with food. Which was why Julie was now lugging half a dozen paper bags with her. That and she was there for the sake of her grade, so she might as well make it worthwhile.</p>
<p>She lumbered toward the side door of the garage fumbling with the handle. Making her way in, Luke spotted her immediately, giving her a smile. He strummed out one last chord before setting his guitar aside, rushing over to help her.</p>
<p>"I hope you don't mind, I brought you guys the left over pizza rolls and some of the other stuff my aunt didn't sell today," Julie announced setting the remaining bags down on the coffee table that was situated among the futon and two tattered armchairs.</p>
<p>Instruments were quickly abandoned at her news. The other three guys greeted her excitedly as they ambushed the food like a pack of hungry wolves. They sat around talking and joking for awhile, uttering their thanks in between bites. And just like that, it seemed Julie had been accepted among Luke's friends. She smirked thinking about how right her tía had been as they ate.</p>
<p>"Julie, you're amazing! Dude, Luke! If you don't ask her out soon, I will!" Bobby teased stuffing half a pizza roll in his mouth.</p>
<p>Julie's eyes shot to Luke. He proceeded to lick his finger and stuff it into Bobby's ear.</p>
<p>"Ignore him, he's an idiot," Luke said. "With a girlfriend," he emphasized, hunting through the bags some more.</p>
<p>"Did you bring me any cheesy things?" Luke asked giving her a worried look.</p>
<p>Julie scanned the table before noticing Reggie held the bag she'd marked especially for Luke. He followed her eyes, startling his friend when he ripped it from his grasp.</p>
<p>"Hands off, Reginald! Jules brought those for me," he said smugly, pointing at his name written on the outside of the bag.</p>
<p>Reggie rolled his eyes exchanging a look with Alex, who then gave Julie a smirk. Julie returned his smile and looked around the rehearsal space better known as Alex's parent's garage.</p>
<p>"Nice set up!" She remarked getting up to walk around while the boys continued to happily stuff their faces.</p>
<p>"It's not much, but it works," Bobby said.</p>
<p>It was true. The space wasn't large or high-tech, and was littered here and there with food wrappers and empty soda bottles, but it seemed to be enough for them. Julie saw stray notebook pages of lyrics and sheet music laying near their instruments. From the looks of it, they were working on a song called <em>It Was Always You.</em></p>
<p>Julie leaned over out of curiosity to read the words when she thought she heard the faint cries of a baby coming from somewhere toward the back of the garage where a living space had been added on. She shot Luke a look over her shoulder, "Is that our baby?"</p>
<p>Luke stumbled to his feet, "Listen, we couldn't concentrate with that thing going off."</p>
<p>"It's in the shower!" Reggie announced oblivious to the dagger eyes Julie was giving Luke.</p>
<p>"You know that <em>thing</em> tracks how long it's been crying and not picked up." Julie said heading for the back of the garage following the sound to the bathroom. She found the baby laying in the shower stall with a towel over its head.</p>
<p>Julie turned to find Luke standing in the doorway, a sheepish look on his face.</p>
<p>"What is wrong with you?" she admonished, pulling the baby into her arms.</p>
<p>"It's not like it's real. I wouldn't do that to an actual baby," Luke defended.</p>
<p>"That's reassuring," Julie said rolling her eyes. "Are you trying to make us fail this project?" she asked bouncing the baby in her arms trying to quiet it.</p>
<p>"Do you think we'd get to work together if we did have to take the class again?" Luke said with a smirk.</p>
<p>Julie didn't give his remark much thought as she looked around desperately needing something to soothe their child.</p>
<p>"I can't afford to fail, Luke. I have college to think about in the fall! Now where did you put the baby's bag?" She stomped from the bathroom clutching the doll to her chest with Luke at her heels.</p>
<p>He darted past her to grab the bag, digging through it in search of the bottle. He returned triumphantly, handing it off to her. The room instantly fell silent as Julie stuffed the fake bottle into the baby's mouth to feed it.</p>
<p>"You're pretty good with this stuff," Luke said softly drawing closer to Julie.</p>
<p>"Thanks," she said holding his gaze.</p>
<p>"Aren't you three the cutest?" Alex cooed, giving Luke a slap on the back. "I hate to break up this sweet Patterson family moment, but I've got a chem test to study for and we need to work on the bridge," he said heading for his drum set.</p>
<p>Luke sighed, "You should stay," he said gazing between Julie and the doll, gently cupping its head in his hand.</p>
<p>Julie bit back a smile, "Sure," she said. "If for no other reason than to make sure little Luke here doesn't end up in the shower again."</p>
<p>He gave her a sheepish grin before heading back to his guitar.</p>
<p>With the baby quieted, Julie sat down on the couch. She'd gotten her sketchbook from the car, sitting with it open in her lap untouched. She was mesmerized by the music Sunset Curve made, especially since Luke's eyes kept meeting hers while he sang and played. </p>
<p>"You're sure you can handle little Luke tonight?" Julie asked one last time while Luke walked her out to her car.</p>
<p>"Yes, I swear I won't let you down again," he said stuffing his hands in the back pockets of his jeans.</p>
<p>"I really liked your sound," Julie said pushing her glasses up her nose, not feeling ready to go yet.</p>
<p>"Thanks, I'm really glad you made it. You can come anytime. Seriously," Luke said.</p>
<p>"But only if I bring quesitos, right?" Julie teased.</p>
<p>"That's just an extra bonus," Luke smiled.</p>
<p>The two stood quietly for a moment before Julie said goodnight and turned toward her car.</p>
<p>"I almost forgot," she said turning back and reaching for the drawing she'd folded into her back pocket earlier. "I did a little doodle of you guys."</p>
<p>Luke took the paper in his hands, unfolding it, his eyes bright. "This is definitely going to be the next album cover," he said.</p>
<p>Julie giggled, "Sounds good. Good luck tonight."</p>
<p>"Yeah, thanks," Luke replied rubbing the back of his neck. "Hey, Jules?"</p>
<p>Julie's stomach twisted seeing the look on his face. She had a feeling he was going to bring up Saturday night's events again now that he had a chance to talk to her alone. She steeled herself, ready to own her drunk confession. </p>
<p>"Would you," he cleared his throat starting again, "would you maybe want to go out with me sometime? Like a...like on a date?"</p>
<p>Julie's mouth went dry, her mind blank. Was this really happening? "Yeah, I'd like that," she replied as calmly as she could while her hammering heart tried beating out of her chest.</p>
<p>"Cool," Luke said simply, a look of relief washing over his face.</p>
<p>He opened her door so she could get in her car as they said their goodbyes. Julie headed for home then, her mind racing and her happiness overflowing.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After returning home, Julie hurried up the stairs to call Flynn and tell her the good news. She opened her Instagram to message musicXman next. There were a handful of fans Julie chatted with regularly, but musicXman was easily one of her favorites. Even though they knew very little about each other, he was fun to talk to and usually gave decent advice where Beanie Boy was concerned.</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art: </b>BIG BIG news!</p><p><b>musicXman: </b>???</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art:</b> Beanie Boy just asked me out!!!!! 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁</p><p><b>musicXman: </b>Awesome!</p><p><b>musicXman: </b>When's the big day?</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art:</b> Not sure.</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art: </b>Hopefully sooooon!!!</p><p><b>musicXman:</b> So everything went ok after Saturday?</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art:</b> Yeah.</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art: </b>You were right I guess.<b></b></p><p><b>musicXman: </b>See? I know what I'm talking about!</p><p><b>musicXman: </b>...mostly</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art:</b> Ok, so tell me this- why did he seem nervous to ask me out?</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art: </b>I think it'sweird. Cute, but weird.</p><p><b>musicXman: </b>Why is that weird?</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art:</b> He's super popular and super hot so he ALWAYS has super popular, super pretty girls hanging around him.</p><p><b>musicXman:</b> And?</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art: </b>IDK!I just figured he would be more...smooth?</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art: </b>Like he is with them.</p><p><b>musicXman:</b> He probably doesn't care about those other girls like he does you.</p><p><b>musicXman: </b>It's easy to be smooth when there's nothing at stake.</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art: </b>If you say so 🙃</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art: </b>WhatI'm really having a hard time with is why he would even ask me out in the first place.</p><p><b>musicXman: </b>Why not?</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art: </b>I'm 0% popular.</p><p><b>musicXman: </b>Hopefully he's not so shallow that he only cares about how popular you are...</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art: </b>If it weren't for this project we're doing, I doubt he'd know I was alive.</p><p><b>musicXman:</b> He sees you.</p><p><b>musicXman: </b>And he must like what he sees.</p><p><b>musicXman: </b>He wouldn't have asked you out otherwise.</p><p><b>musicXman: </b>Trust me...I haven't steered you wrong yet!</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art: </b>🤞🤞🤞</p><p>Xxx</p><p>Julie walked into class the next day only to find Luke at his desk with his head down, fast asleep. He had used his backpack as a makeshift pillow. She smirked taking her seat beside him feeling a warmth spread through her chest when she considered him. He had his gray beanie pulled down over his eyes and a five o'clock shadow dusted his jaw. Glancing around the room, she could see half the other students in the class seemed equally as tired as Luke, or were sneaking sips of energy drinks or lattes to stay awake. Their baby sat in its car seat on the floor beside his desk. When it began to cry, Luke jolted upright pulling his hat from his head looking around frantically. He relaxed at the sight of Julie.</p><p>"Hey, Rip Van Winkle," she greeted, picking up the baby from its carrier to tend to it. "Rough night?" she asked trying not to laugh.</p><p>"Yeah," Luke replied, his voice thick and sleepy. He slipped his beanie back on and rubbed the heels of his hands into his eyes, "I was up all night. I swear that thing is set to impossible mode."</p><p>Julie noticed Carrie and Aubrey walking through the door then. Aubrey was making a beeline for Luke with two enormous drinks from Starbucks in hand.</p><p>"Hey, Luke," she greeted him, a sympathetic look on her face. "I brought you a little pick me up," she said setting down one of the cups on his desk.</p><p>"Thanks, Aubrey. That was nice."</p><p>Aubrey shot a smug look over her shoulder at Julie before turning back to Luke who had suddenly perked up. "Oh, it was nothing. I figured you'd probably be tired after I heard you had to take care of your baby all night. You're so sweet," she gushed.</p><p>Julie rolled her eyes feeling a pang of annoyance in her gut as Aubrey and Luke commiserated over their night of parenting. She did her best to ignore the way Aubrey was pawing flirtatiously at Luke's arm, giggling stupidly. Finally reaching her limit after a short while, Julie cleared her throat and pulled out their assignment needing something as a distraction. She tried not to look too pleased with herself when Luke took the hint and quickly thanked Aubrey again before turning his attention to her. Aubrey gave a huff and stalked off to her seat.</p><p>"Hey, so I was wondering if this Friday works ok for you. For our date," Luke said.</p><p>"This Friday? I'll have to check my super packed social calendar," she teased, fiddling with the snaps on their baby's outfit as it lay on her desk.</p><p>Luke smirked. His leg bounced under his desk while Julie pretended to think.</p><p>"Friday is perfect," she replied with a smile just as Mrs. Cortez began her lecture.</p><p>Xxx</p><p>"Dad is downstairs talking pretty seriously with some guy named Luke,"  Julie's brother, Carlos, said popping his head into her room. "He looks like he belongs in a boyband," he added before deftly dodging the tube of lip gloss Julie had thrown at him in response.</p><p>"He does not!" she argued rolling her eyes and turning back to the mirror.</p><p>Julie gave her curls a once over, relieved that they were behaving. She hadn't had much time to do anything but tame them since wrestling seldom-worn contacts into her eyes took longer than expected. Julie took a deep breath and stood from her dressing table. She smoothed her hands down the sides of her shirt and jeans looking over the outfit she and Flynn agreed was comfortable enough for whatever the evening had in store, and hugged her in just the right places. She made her way downstairs then finding her dad talking animatedly about something with Luke, who smiled and nodded along politely. He stopped mid-sentence noticing Julie's arrival.</p><p>Luke did a double-take catching sight of her out of the corner of his eye, "Hey, Jules," he greeted, a smile lighting up his face as he turned to look at her.</p><p>"Luke and I were just talking about how he plays in a band. Sunset Swerve was it?" Her dad asked.</p><p>"Sunset Curve," Luke and Julie corrected in unison.</p><p>"Right, Sunset Curve. Well, anyway, I told him we should jam together sometime. I could dust off my old drum set," he said throwing Julie a playful wink.</p><p>She raised her eyebrows in horror at the thought and began ushering Luke toward the door instead. "Sounds great dad. Bye!" she said hurriedly.</p><p>She could hear her dad chuckle before he called after them, "Have fun you two. Have her home by 11:30!"</p><p>"Sure thing, Mr. Molina! Nice meeting you," Luke called over his shoulder as Julie pressed her hand to his back to move him along toward his car.</p><p>He opened the passenger side door for her, waiting patiently while she got settled in her seat. When he came around to his seat, she watched him fish something from his pocket. He leaned toward her holding a penny in front of her face.</p><p>"What's this for?" she said cautiously taking the coin.</p><p>"This is our date," he said looking amused.</p><p>Julie stared at him blankly wondering what she has gotten herself into.</p><p>"Come on Jules, you know I can't just take a girl like you out on a date as basic as dinner and a movie. I want to do something special with you, ok? Now, pick a number between one and twenty," Luke urged, buckling his seatbelt.</p><p>Julie gave him a curious look feeling her pulse quicken at the thought of being special to him. She didn't know what a penny had to do with anything, but she wasn't about to argue with Luke Patterson asking her to go on a mysterious adventure. So she smiled and played along, "I'll go with thirteen," she said.</p><p>Luke smiled back, "Perfect," he said starting his car and backing out of the driveway. "Flip the penny. Heads we go right, tails we go left," he explained coming to a stop before turning onto the road.</p><p>Julie flipped it announcing they'd go left. "Ok, now what?" she asked feeling excitement bubbling inside of her, wondering where all of this would lead.</p><p>"You flip again at the next intersection, and the next, and the next. Since you picked thirteen, we have thirteen flips to get somewhere. No matter where it is, we have our date there."</p><p>"Unless it's a prison or hospital, right?" Julie clarified suddenly feeling nervous.</p><p>Luke rolled his eyes, "Unless it's a prison or hospital," he confirmed.</p><p>"Or a funeral home!" Julie added.</p><p>"Julie Molina! Please just flip the penny," Luke admonished playfully as he came to a stop sign.</p><p>She dutifully tossed the coin then and at each crossroad after that. Turning left and right through a series of several heads and a handful of tails, they were finally led to the very full parking lot of a place called YoYo's Fun Factory. The face of a large, blue, gumpy-looking dinosaur grinned at Julie from the sign above the door as she eyed the building speculatively through her window.</p><p>"I think the last time I came here, I was in third grade," Julie remarked wondering how a night surrounded by screaming children would be the least bit romantic.</p><p>"The penny has spoken. No questioning the penny!" Luke said resolutely, even though Julie could sense he was just as hesitant as she was.</p><p>Flashing lights, blaring music, and the smell of fried foods assaulted her senses as Luke pulled the door open for them. Julie froze in the doorway, eyes wide, unsure of what to do. She looked down feeling Luke's fingers twine with hers. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and pulled her alongside him as they approached the front counter. With pizza and drinks ordered and a heaping cup full of tokens in hand, the two made their way toward the games. Julie felt Luke's arm snag her around the waist, pulling her close just in time to narrowly avoid being plowed over by a group of rambunctious boys passing by.</p><p>"Thanks," she said looking up to meet his eyes, her hands pressed to his chest.</p><p>Luke nodded, his focus on her lips. He seemed to come to his senses after a moment and cleared his throat, "I hope you're up for a lesson, because I am a Skee-ball master," he boasted.</p><p>He motioned toward the game in front of them and bent to put coins in each of their machines. Julie allowed her eyes to rove the length of his body. She couldn't help but notice the way his shirt tensed around his broad shoulders, or how the muscles in his arms bulged as he threw the ball up the ramp. She startled slightly, feeling caught, when he turned to face her just as her eyes were settling on the curve of his backside.</p><p>"Are you going to play?" he asked with a smirk that told her he knew what she had been doing.</p><p>Julie nodded and picked up a ball. With a flick of her wrist she sent the ball sailing up the ramp, sinking it into the hole worth 10,000 points. Luke stood dumbfounded.</p><p>"Is that good, Skee-ball master?" she asked feigning innocence, then pointed a finger in his face and barked out a laugh.</p><p>Luke slowly pushed her finger aside giving her a flat look, "So that's how it's gonna be, huh?" he asked as he rolled his shoulders back a couple of times pretending to loosen up. He ran his hand through his hair as Julie picked up another ball. She could feel his eyes on her as she easily sunk the next shot into the 10,000 point hole again.</p><p>"It's just physics," she said with a shrug as if there was nothing to it.</p><p>Luke mocked her under his breath as he turned back to his own lackluster game. Julie laughed when he tried, without much success, to throw her off bumping his hip into hers, or trying to block her shots.</p><p>As she threw her last ball and collected her pile of tickets, she looked excitedly around the room deciding where to drag Luke next. "What shall I kick your butt at now?" she asked playfully rubbing her chin while he pretended to sulk. Luke glared at her, unable to hide his smirk. Julie took his hand in hers as she pulled him off to the next game and the next until their tokens were gone and their dinner was ready.</p><p>"Ok, ok, I got a good one!" Luke chuckled as he wiped the grease from his hands while the two sat finishing their meal.</p><p>Julie groaned, "ok, let's hear it," she said reluctantly.</p><p>"What rock group has four men that don't sing?" Luke asked smiling expectantly.</p><p>Julie took a sip of her drink, a thoughtful look on her face.</p><p>"Mount Rushmore!" Luke supplied. "Come on! That's funny!" he said when Julie gave him a half-hearted laugh.</p><p>"You tell terrible jokes," she said taking one last bite of her pizza.</p><p>"You think that's bad? Wait until Reggie gets going," Luke said.</p><p>They both watched as one of the employees dressed in a blue dinosaur costume lumbered by their table just then grumbling loudly about something from inside the suit. </p><p>"This has actually been a lot of fun," Julie chuckled, playing with the straw in her cup.</p><p>"I'm having a really good time with you too, Jules." </p><p>She felt her heart race with Luke's gaze holding hers a moment longer than she expected.</p><p>"Are you about ready to try our luck with the penny again?" he asked standing from his seat with his drink cup in hand. "Refill for the road?"</p><p>Julie nodded handing her cup over to Luke. Once he'd gone, she began to gather her things and noticed an Instagram notification on her phone from earlier:</p><p><b>musicXman:</b> How's it going?</p><p>She glanced up wondering if she had a minute to reply. Seeing Luke busy at the drink machine, she quickly sent back:</p><p><b>J_Mo_Art:</b> Perfect 😍</p><p>"You good?" Luke asked coming back to the table with a smile, handing her cup back.</p><p>Julie nodded and stood as they headed for the door. She stopped before they passed the prize counter, digging the tickets she'd won from her pockets. She traded them in for a blue rubber bracelet branded with the words YoYo's Fun Factory all around it, and a handful of candy. Luke traded his tickets for a small stuffed version of YoYo the dinosaur.</p><p>"Pick a number," Luke said pulling the penny from his back pocket as they walked toward his car.</p><p>Julie went with seven the second time around and landed them at the beach just as the moon rose high and bright in the sky. Even with a slight chill in the air, she and Luke walked barefoot along the shore talking and picking up unusual shells that caught their eye before tossing them back into the waves.</p><p>"Hey Jules, I kinda feel like I need to tell you something,"  Luke said breaking the silence that had fallen between them. Julie felt giddy with hope at what he may need to say. Coming to a stop he added, "but you need to promise not to freak out or get mad."</p><p>"For the record, that's the least reassuring thing you can ever say to a person," Julie said feeling her stomach knot, her swell of hope deflated.</p><p>"I know who you are," he went on in a rush.</p><p>"Ok? I know who you are too," Julie said feeling confused, wondering what he meant.</p><p>"No, like..." Luke paused looking as if he were debating whether to go on or not. She watched him rub the back of his neck for a moment before he met her eyes, "Julie, I'm music man."</p><p>Julie was pretty sure her heart stopped beating just then as the weight of his words fell on her. Feelings of embarrassment, fear, and anger instantly coursed through her. She wasn't sure what to say or how to react, so she simply turned on her heels and hurried off in the opposite direction. </p><p>"Julie, wait a second. Let me explain," Luke called.</p><p>She wheeled around to face him as he jogged up to her, "You knew? It's been you the whole time? You've seen? Oh gosh, you've seen." Julie exclaimed as her mind turned to thoughts of the dozens of Beanie Boy drawings she'd done, and that he'd undoubtedly looked at. "This can't be happening." Julie said covering her face in embarrassment, horrified that he knew the extent of her affections. </p><p>"Jules-" he said, gently drawing her hands down from her face.</p><p>"I told you things. I thought you were- ugh! Why didn't you tell me sooner? You let me think you were just some random guy. Now I look like some kind of dopey stalker!" Julie huffed in defense.</p><p>"Would you chill? I don't think you're a dopey stalker. I'm one of your biggest fans. I'm surprised you don't think I'm the dopey stalker," Luke said, his eyes holding hers. "I think your drawings are amazing. Julie, I think you're amazing." </p><p>They stood unspeaking. Luke gave her a pleading look that left Julie wishing she could read his mind in that moment. She felt a strange sense of relief pass over her the longer they stood. </p><p>"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she finally asked. </p><p>Luke shrugged, "it was the only way I could think of to get you to really talk to me. Maybe not my most brilliant move, but then I really started to like how you'd open up to me, you weren't afraid. You weren't hung up on me being popular, or what people were going to think of us."</p><p>His words took her by surprise. Had she really held him at such arms length that he had to hide who he was just to reach her? How much time had she wasted hiding in the shadows when he'd seen her all along?</p><p>"Why me?" </p><p>"Why you?"</p><p>"Yes, why me? Of all the girls that want you, of all the girls you could choose. Why me?" she desperately wanted to know.</p><p>"Sixth grade orientation."</p><p>Julie quirked her brow. Her mind was busy trying to pull up the memory wondering why that moment held any significance. The two had turned to slowly walk the beach again heading back toward the car. </p><p>"It was the first day of school. The entire sixth grade was sitting in the auditorium," Luke began. </p><p>"I don't remember that at all," Julie admitted looking over at him.</p><p>"You were sitting next to me and the assistant principal was giving us some kind of motivational speech about being prepared and trying our hardest, I don't really remember," he waved off the thought. "Then he wanted us to fill out some stupid questionnaire, like a get-to-know-you thing. I panicked. I didn't have a pencil, and this was right after we'd gotten this big speech about responsibility. That's when I remember leaning over and asking you if I could borrow one."</p><p>Julie giggled, "I'm still your pencil supplier after all these years, huh?" </p><p>"I always have pencils, Jules," Luke admitted, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. He looked up at the sky and shook his head returning to his story, "you gave me this smile when you handed it over and..."</p><p>"What?" Julie asked eager to hear the rest when he'd trailed off seeming lost in the memory.</p><p>"It sounds so cheesy," he said cringing.</p><p>Julie slowed, bringing them to a stop. She took his hands in hers and gave them a squeeze. </p><p>"Something happened to my heart that day. Something I never felt before." Luke admitted turning to face her. "I know it seems ridiculous, we were just kids, but it was always you."</p><p>A smile played on Julie's lips. Luke reached over to tenderly tuck a stray curl behind her ear, his thumb brushing her cheek as he leaned toward her.</p><p>"Is this the moment that we kiss?" she whispered, feeling butterflies erupt in her stomach.</p><p>"Definitely," he said pressing her body to his as their lips met. </p><p>Julie clung to Luke's shoulders, suddenly feeling dizzy. He held her firmly in his arms as their mouths moved softly and slowly at first, exploring what was happening between them. Julie parted her lips feeling something ignite deep within her. Luke took the invitation, brushing the tip of his tongue to hers. They stood kissing for a long time, both oblivious to the waves lapping at their feet. When they finally pulled back and started on their way again, Julie knew the memory of this moment, this kiss, would stay with her for a long time.  </p><p>"Give me your hand," she said digging into her pocket while the two sat parked in her driveway, just before curfew, talking and sharing the candy Julie had won earlier.</p><p>Luke gave her a curious look offering his right hand to her. Julie took the bracelet she'd chosen from YoYo's and slid it onto Luke's wrist, "Well, you've outdone yourself, Patterson. I don't know how you could ever top this date," she said.</p><p>"Give me another chance and we'll see," he replied leaning to grab for the stuffed dinosaur he'd tossed into his backseat. </p><p>Julie swallowed hard, "Are you asking me out again already? We haven't even finished this date yet." </p><p>"I want a re-match at Skee-ball," Luke said changing his voice and puppeteering the stuffed animal as if it were talking to her. </p><p>"You're a dork, Luke Patterson," Julie said with a chuckle.</p><p>"And you're beautiful, Julie Molina." Luke replied setting the dinosaur in her lap before he leaned over to give her a goodnight kiss. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for checking out my latest chapter! I hope you enjoyed it :) I really appreciate your comments and kudos, but especially you taking the time to read my work.</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading!</p>
<p>Note: Most of the characters aren't mine, but the story is. It was inspired by the book Something New by Amanda Abram.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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